Sofa bed with automatic operation



May 9, 1961 E. L. BRONSTIEN SOFA BED WITH AUTOMATIC OPERATION Filed Sept. 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g; [ma/d1. Era/2536 71, QK BY WW, wyd azzwm $74 M- May 9, 1961 E. BRONSTIEN SOFA BED WITH AUTOMATIC OPERATION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. .2, 1954 I INVENTOR. imam/Z. flmwzzem unfolded. 'OI' bEdPOSlfiOD} .9 l.

V, a Figure 3 is anielevational-view: of theestmctutezshown when the bed frame "is in the". fO1dd ,Oi-;i A :.i Figure4 is. a fragmentary view inelevationi showing" r a modification, in the structure {for,ipivotally niou itin i thebed frame onto thefsofa frameand ,ill trating. ;'ghe

farrcaugement'of parts when-insthe' unfolded :1

SOFA BED WITH AUTOMATIC OPERATION Edward L. Bronstien, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to the United States Bedding Co., St. Paul, Minn., a corpora- 7 tion of Minnesota Filed Sept. 2, 1954, Ser. No. 453,808

3 Claims. (Cl. 5-13) This invention relates to a sofa bed and an improvement in the construction thereof which enables operation to be more easily and quickly effected for conversion from a bed to a sofa and vice versa. 1

To the present, the primary effort in the design and construction of sofa beds has been to simplify their'construction and operation and' to design various parts for maximum utilization of forces available to assist/in the actuation for conversion from a sofa to a bed or from a bed to a sofa. Notwithstanding the many improvements which have been made from a structural standpoint, operation for unfolding or folding the sofa beds I Unit States en to extended or bed position and folded or sofa position still requires considerable eifort and the burden for operation presents one of the more serious obstacles to the enthusiastic acceptance of suchv sofa beds and such structures.

It is an object of this'invention to produce a sofa I bed which is free of the objectionable features heretofore confronting the enthusiastic acceptance ofv sofa beds and it is a related object to provide a sofa bed which is folded and unfolded to sofa and bed positions respectively automatically without effort on the'part of the operator or user. 7

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to produce a sofa bed which embodies poweroperated means for actuation of the parts to effect adjustments from bed to sofa position and from sofa to bed position thereby to relieve the user of the burden heretofore required to effect such adjustments and it is a further object of this invention to. embody .rneans'operative in combination with such power operated means forregulating the sequence of operationof partslduring folding and unfolding and for latching the various partsto pre ive'nt inadvertent operation ,out of the? desiredrsequence of operation andto hold the various partscat operated position: and providing a: very desirablentcompact' yanrangementiwheniin folded or sofa pOSifiOlLfi; y These and: other objects advantages of .this'invenition will hereinafter appear and for purposes, of illus tration, but not of limitation,--an embodiment of the invention, is shown in theaccompanyi'ng drawings-win FigurQgqL-lS aside ,elevational' v'ie'w with parts of the V sofa frame cutaway to show the arrangement of parts i,

when the bed frame is in the unfoldedbnbedposition;

Figure 2 is an elevationalvijewi of the structure illustrated'in Figure lwi-th the bed frameistructurcsinan $5.6

intermediate position between foldertor sofa po's 'onand 1 fahbedto be adjusted manually; necessarygbetween Q12 andjatop ledge '13,most of which; is covered-b 'less" confined thefsofa frame in, folded the? cushions;- of the-a"sofa. #Sectiori 14 represen' outer-[of the four bedfram sections hereinaf to as the .outer frame section 14, the outer 141 am 39 e section; 1 6;and the i 2 a a t Figure 5 is an elevational view-ofthe structure shown. in. Figure 4 but with the parts in their folded or sofa posi;--

tion, and I Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modification in the mounting of the power operated means for actuating the bed frame to folded and unfolded positions of ad-- justment.

To the best of our. knowledge and belief, no one be-' r fore has ever mechanized a sofa bed nor provided means for power actuation to effect the-desired folding and; unfolding operation of a sofa bed. In accordance with; the practice of this invention, the operator is relieved; entirely of the work required to effect such folding and; unfolding adjustments of the relatively heavy bed frame structure of a sofa bed by the-combination of power operated means and an operated connection between the: power operated means and various elements of the bed. frame structure calculated to provide a desired sequence of'opera'tions for displacement of the parts between folded' and unfolded position with sufficient flexibility in operation to avoid damage to obstacles encountered or to par-ts of the structure responsive to inadvertent resistance to movement but which provides for positive displacement for. actuation to bed or sofa position and the latching of the parts in the various arrangements.

' .While the invention herein will be described ref erence to a four section folding sofa bed of the type described in the copending application of Richard A. Fisher, Serial No. 370,985, filed on- July 29, 1953, now aban-, doned,"it will be understood that the concepts of this invention are applicable also to other types of sofa beds formed of sections folded and unfolded to bed and sofa positions. I v t Ithas been found'inthe practice of this invention that it is important and it is a, further object ofthis invenv tion to make use of power operated means which 00; cupies little space and can conveniently be accommodated out of sight withinthe sofa frame but which is capable of supplying the force requirements necessary for actu at-ion of the parts between folded and unfolded positions; It is important'also in this connection for actuationlof w the parts by means which will remain substantially com;

pletely concealed and without interference with the move.-

. of'the sofa bed as a bed member or as a sofa; 'WlliChJS l relativelysilient in its operation; which operates withoutthe dangerof staining the furniture, bed clothes, carpet} ing or flooring vonwhich the sofa bed may b'e'supported; whichiisperfectly safe in its'f'operation; which operates it simply, response to. button control; which adds little, 5 additional weight to the sofa bed, and which. enables the foldedand unfolded positions-1 s usedlherein,ithe'term sofa frame is inte include the rigid; preferably wooden, frame of th sofa composed of the rear wall 10, front wall 11,2side' holstery; and thelike in'thefinished sofa bed.

bed ime is intended jtoincludezt-he extensibl ections adapted to be unfolded toiopen or gbed p0 -as-- illustrated in 'Figu're l 0f the drawings,o folde to the sofa onclosed position;; as illustrated I of the tlrawing s,*with f the bed. frame se'ctions. m

with the 'outer section-14 uppermost for su the: ea henware tem fraine sectionlL a da ted to xtend nearly ,j

- 3 to end relation in a common plane when the bed frame is in the unfolded or bed position, as illustrated in Figure l. The forward end of the inner frame section -17 is pivoted at 18 to the rearward end portion of the inner intermediate "section 16. The forward end' portion of the inner intermediate section 16 is pivoted at 19 on the rearward end portion of t-he'outer intermediate section 1 5 and the forward end portion of the outer intermediate section is pivoted at 20 on the rearward end portion of the outer section 14.

' Each of the bed frame sections is formed of side channel members spaced one from the other crosswise by a distance slightly less than the spaced relation between -the side walls 12 of the sofa frame with cross brace members interconnecting the side bed frame members for rigidity and support. Since each of the side frame members in each of the sections is constructed similarly to the others opposite thereto and similarly in connection with other parts, it will sufiice merely to describe the construction arrangement of one side structure. It is preferred to form the bed frame members of each of the sections of angle irons with the horizontally disposed ledge 21 lowermost and extending inwardly for aiding in the support of a mattress orthe like bedding thereon. d In the modifications shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the inner bed frame section 17 is pivotally secured at its rearward end portion to the side walls of the sofa frame as by means of a bracket plate 22 which is fixed as by means of screws or bolts 23 to the inner wall at each side of the sofa frame and onto which one'end portion of a curvilinear arm 24 is pivoted as at 25 While the other end portion is rigid with the rearward end portion of the inner frame section 17.

A metal plate 25 is secured as by means of screws or bolts 26 to each side of the sofa frame adjacent the front wall. A lever arm 27 is pivotally secured at 28 to the plate while the other end of the arm 27 is pivotally connected at, 29 to the forward end portion of a link 30 and the upper rearward end portion of a bell crank 31. The rearward end portion of the link 30 is pivoted at 32 on the upwardly projecting end of a bracket 33 fixed as by bolts or rivets 34 to the side of the inner bed frame section 17 intermediate its ends.

4 The bell crank 31 .is pivoted intermediate its ends at 35 to the side of the inner intermediate bed plate section 16 in a central portion thereof while the other free .4 14 into closely spaced parallel relation with the inner intermediate frame section 16 during the folding operation and to latch the outer frame section in the desired position while the frame sections are in foldedposition and to maintain such latching engagement until such time as the inner frame sections are unfolded. It is desirable to achieve such latching and unlatching operations in response to movement of the inner frame sections to forward end portion of the bell crank 31 is pivoted at 36 to the rearward end portion o'f .a link 37 the other end of which is pivoted'at 38' to the upper end portion of an intermediate leg '39.: The leg comprises a ri gid siipporting member pivoted at its upper end at 40 which also represents the pivotal point" 19 between the outer intermediate section 15 and theinner intermediate section 16. The intermediate supporting legs. 39' are'intefgrated in'movement one with the .other by; means of one or more cross brace members 41 in the fornipf angle of the legs. a

. In the unfolded or bed positiongfthe eei r eai eition of the frame is supported by..means of anotherpair of laterally spaced apart legs 4 2 CaChfOfi which'is pivote'd adjacent the. upper end portion at .43 to an. intertion to unfolded or' be'd position. f'I n the construction @1151 er ati aef s tuates t t'i e ie sirabl'e' automatically to bring thvoutr frame irons. or rods and the like fixed to intermediate portions *side of the outer inter mediate section '15,:adjacent its rcommon pivot. The power system includes a pump 72 p,

aeeaen 75 78 isconnected bya conduit 80 to the base of the cy folded and unfolded positions of adjustment. One such means, illustrated in Figures 1-3 of the drawings, comprises a locking pin 47 which extends laterally from the pivotally connected ends of a pair of links 48 and 49. The free end of link 48 is pivoted at 50 on an intermediate portion of the outer frame section 15 and the free end of link 49 is provided with a stud 51 which is slidably received in an elongate slot 52 in the forward portion of the inner intermediate frame section 16. A short link 53 is pivoted at one end on the stud 51 while the other end is pivoted at 54 to the side of theforward intermediate section 15 in closely spaced relation with its pivot 19.

' The bell crank 31 is formed with a recess 55 which, when the bed frame is in unfolded or bed position, extends substantially vertically downwardly from the upper edge in position to receive the locking pin 47 therein into which position the pin 47 is displaced when the outer frame section 14 is folded about its pivot 20 to extend at about an angle of 90 degrees from the outer intermediate section 15 and when the outer intermediate section 15 is folded about its pivot 19 to extend at an angle of about 90 degrees with the rearward intermediate section. As a result, when the inner intermediate section and the inner section are displaced toward folded position, the bell crank 31 will be rocked in a counterclockwise direction and the locking pin located in the path of the slot will be engaged by the upper wall 56 of the slot for camming action to displace the pin downwardly and bring the outer frame section down into closer spaced relation with the inner frame section. In the final folded position, the bell crank 31 will be rocked through an angle of about 90 degrees so that the recess 55 in which the locking. pin 47 is received will extend substantially horizontally and thereby latch the locking pin in position to resist displacement or separation of the outer frame section 14 from the intermediate frame section 16.v It will be understood that other latching means such as are described in the aforementioned cop'ending application Ser. No. 370,985 may also be employed. i e

In the preferred construction, the power operated means comprises a hydrauliccylinder 60 having its' base pivoted at 61 to the end portion of a bracket 62 which extends forwardly beyond the pivot 19 from the body portion of the bracket which is fixed to the underside of the forward end portion of the inner intermediate section 16. The outer end portion of the piston rod63 1S pivoted at 64 to adownwardly extending end portion of. a bracket 65 fixed to the underside of the inner end portion of the frame section 14 with the portion to which the piston is pivoted extending rearwardly beyond the pivot 20 when infolded position. This same-arrangement is repeated on'the other sideof the bed frame for balanced operation.

Another hydraulic cylinder 66 has its base pivoted at '67 onto a bracket 68 fixed to the sidewall of thesofa 'frameadjacent-its forward end while-the end of the piston 69 is pivoted at 70 onto the end of a link 71 which is rigidly connected to the rocker arm 27 at its pivot so so that the arm will be rocked with'the link about their .infafluid reservoir 73 and a reversible motor 74* con nected -forfoperation of the pump. One port er the -is connected byonecondu'it 75 ton manifold which'has a number of outlets 78 and 79. 'One ou tbt :if't

60 and another outlet 79-is connected by conduit 81 to the base of the cylinder 66." The'other port of the pump is connected by a conduit 82'to a second'manifold 83? having a number'of outlets. 1 One outlet 84 communicates through conduit 85 with the outer end of the hydraulic cylinder 66 and'another outlet 86 is "connected by conduit 87 to the head end of the hydraulic cylinder 60. The conduits are formed preferably of aflexible' material to enable flexing action of the conduits during changes in positions of the frame of the cylinders in response to opening and closing movements-of the sofa bed. It is desirable to fabricate the conduits of tubing capable of use at high pressure without leakage or breakage for use in the transmission of fluids under pressure for positive operation of the hydraulic cylinders.

' Operation When it is desired to adjust the sofa bed from the unfolded or bed position, shown in Figure 1', to. the folded or sofa position, shown in Figure 3,'t he hydraulic motor 74 is operated for turning movement as by switch means operated through a button or the like for actuation of the pump to circulate fluid underpressure from the reservoir 73 to the manifold 76. Since the'fo rce necessary to lift the outer frame sections 14 and 15 "about their pivots is considerably less than the force required to lift the innerjintermediate and inner sections, the fluid under pressure will flow first from the outlet 78 through the conduit 80 to the base of the*cylinder 60. This will cause the piston to be displacedoutwardly in the cylinder forcing the bracket 65 in the direction away from the bracket 62 with the result that the outer frame section 14 will be rocked about its pivot 20 until it extends'substantially perpendicularly from the end' of the forward 'in-' tennediate section 15. In this position, the'end of the bracket 65 to which the end of the piston is pivoted and the end portion or" the bracket 62 to which the base of the cylinder is pivoted will still be in alignment offset from the pivot '19 with the result that continued displacement of the piston will cause the forward intermediate bed section 15 also to rock about its, pivot 19 until the. section 15 extends substantially perpendicularly from the end of section 16 with the outer frame section.14 in position over section 16 in spaced parallel relation therewith. This provides the first phase of the folding operation achieved by the hydraulic cylinder 60. and produces the position of parts shown in Figure 2. g

With reference to the particular movement of links and. other. parts during such operation by. the hydraulic cylinder,vv rocking movement of the outer frame section .14 about. its pivot. 20 causes the ends'of the links 48 and 49 to be displaced in the direction towards each other with resultant displacement of the. locking pin outwardly away from the frame sections 1.4 'and- 15.. mediate section 15 begins-to. rock about'its"'pivot 19, the links-45 react in a mannerto cause the forward-supporting legs..42 to be rocked on their pivot 43l-into position alongside the outer frame section. 14. Concurrently,

link- 53. forces the stud 51 rearwardly? in the guide slot 52 thereby moving link 49 rearwardly which in combination with theoutward-displacement of .thelinks. 43 and 49 -causes the locking. pm 4710 move rearwardly in an arcuate path to a position slightly above and. forwardly of the recess 55 in the bell 31," as shown in Figure 2. When thehydrau1iccylinder60 completes its operation and further movement is resisted by the force relationships developed or because of cylinder adjustment for As. the outer inter- I predeterminedypiston; displacement, the hydraulic fluid undeg pressure takes the next courseof least resistance and flows from the outlet 79; through. conduit 81 to the base of the hydraulic cylinder 66.- This causes 'outward displacement, of the piston 69 for '.-positive actuation of .thelink 71 to rock the link and thaiocker .27 about their; commonpivot 28.-,, As the rocker arm" is, rotated .about its; pivot from the position shown in Figures]; and. 2

and then down into the sofa frame, as will-hereinafter be described. "1?

As the parts of the bed frame are carried by the rocker arm from'the position shown in Figure 2 to the sofa position of Figure 3, the inner section 17 swings about .the, pivot 25 and assumes-a position substantially perpendic ular to the inner intermediate section 16 which is displaced rearwardly and down'and becomes seated in the space at the bottom of the sofa frame between the rear and front walls' with the outer frame section and the outer intermediate frame section positioned in the same relation assumed upon the initial folding step. This relative pivotal movement between sections 16 and 17 7 causes link 30 to rock the bell crank 31 counterclockwise about its pivot 35 with the result that the lockingpin 47 tion thereby firmly to hold the outer frame section in the folded position.

When in the sofa position with the bed frame mem-t be rs folded-as illustrated in Figure 3, the inner frame section '17 extends substantially vertically adjacent the back wall of thesofa frame while the inner intermediate section extends forwardly'from the bottom thereof across the base of the sofa frame: The forward intermediate section extends substantially perpendicularly upwardly from the forwardedge to a level corresponding to the height of the front base section and the outer frame -section 14 extends rearwardly in parallel spaced relation with the inner intermediate section 16 thereby to provide -a compact unit which comfortably fits within the baseof the sofa; frame. Seat cushions are placed upon and supported by the outer frame section 14. While in this position, the outer section is held against upward 'displacementby link 48 and by the locking pin 47 which versing motor 74 'isio'perated' for turning movement in opposite direction. This operates the pump inamanner to make 82 the feed line andthe conduit'iS the leadline for; draining the hydraulic fluid from the outlet endsof the cylindersf through; the; 'rnani fold 76 to the reservoir.

'Oilgor otherli'ytlranlic fluid is pumped; under pressure through the feedline 82 to the manifold "83; {Since the latching engagementbetween the locking pin- 47 and-the I recess bell.cranlc"31 -prevents displacement. of thefra sections 14 and 15 away'fr'om the; frame" section 16 the locking} pin 47 has been released. responsive-1t turn of the inner intermediate section and inner'se .tounfolded position; the flow of fluid from the-m nifold 63 is from port 84'th'rough line 85 to the head end-of. the f i cylinder 66. ;This causes displacement of the piston 69 l into the cylinder with th e' result that the link 71 and the a rocker arm 27 are-rotated ina counter-clockwise direc'' s tion about their common pivot 28. 'Such rocking movement of arm 27=car ri-es-the inner intermediate section upwardly and forwardly .to'elfectflunfolding operationsff} of the inner frarne sectionand th'el inner intermediate V frame section to theposition ofvparts. shown in Figure-2tp As the inner section and the inner intermediate section f are: unfoldedto. their extendedpositiomlink 30 .causes: the' 1 Libell'. crankisl. itozrock' ta: its riginal. r'uzs tign. f a iu t- I- ment wherein the locking pin is released for movement upwardly out of the now vertically disposed recess 55 of the bell crank. The'resiliency of the members including the mattresses and the like materials of the bed 'will usually cause some degree of separation between the frame members suflicient to lift the locking pin 47 out of the recess by positive displacement of the outer frame sections 14 and 15 but the hydraulic power operated means will usually await completion of the operation of the cylinder 66 for unfolding the inner frame sections. This is because of the tendency for a cylinder once started to complete its operation before flow of hydraulic fluid under pressure to the next.

Upon, substantial completion of the unfolding cycle by the first hydraulic cylinder, fluid flows from port 86 through line 87 to the head of the cylinder 60. This causes inward displacement of the piston rod 63 and consequent pulling action between the extensions with the result that the frame section 14 is rocked in a' counterclockwise direction about its pivot 20 and the frame section 15 is similarly rocked in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 19 until alignment between the hydraulic cylinder and the extensions as the parts are returned to their unfolded or bed position of Figure 1. As the piston is displaced by the hydraulic fluidunder pressure admitted to one end of the cylinder, the fluid displaced by the piston flows from the port at the end to the manifold connected therewith and from there it returns to the reservoir. In the'absence of operation of the pump for feeding fluid under pressure to oneor the other of the manifolds, the fluid return passages can be made automatically to open in response to forces applied so as to enable the bed sections to be folded or unfolded manually, if desired.

. For operation of the parts with power operated means of the type described located on the bottom side of the frame members, it will be apparent that the lines of forces generated by the hydraulic cylinders will be from points adjacent the pivots and in alignment offset from the pivots with pivotal connection between the piston and cylinder to adjacent sections of the bed frame or with a frame section in between if the intermediateframe section represents a short section, as for example section 15 which lies between sections 14 and 16 to which the hydraulic cylinders are connected.

While it is preferred to locatethe power operated means out of the way. on the underside of the frame members, the power operated means can be positioned on the top side of the frame members, as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings. In this modification, a hydraulic cylinder 90 is mounted with the base of the cylinder pivoted on a pin 91 extending across the yoke of a bracket 92 fixed to the top side ofthe frame section 16 adjacent the pivot 19 while the end of the piston rod 93 is pivoted on.a similar bracket 95 fixed to the top side of the frame section 14 adjacent the pivot 20; In this modification,.instead of flowing fluid under pressure to the base of the cylinder for causing the sections to fold from bed position to sofa position, the conduit is connected for feeding the pressure fluid to the head 96 of the cylinder. This will cause inward displacement of the piston rod 93 with the result that the sections 14 and 15 would be rocked in the clockwise direction about their pivots to folded position with consequent movement of links and parts as previously described. Reversal of the flow of the fluid willcause reverse movements of the parts to unfold the bed frame to bed position.

It will be understood that power operated mechanical means such as interconnected gears and sectors may be used instead of the described power operated hydraulic means to elfect the desired swinging movements. For

example, use may be made of an arm pivotally connected atone end to the frame section-14 and rigidly connected portion of the frame section 16. In the alternative, such mechanical power operated means may be provided for interconnecting adjacent frame sections to effect the desired swinging movements.

- In Figures 4 and 5, illustration is made of a modification in the means for pivotally mounting the bed frame ontothe sofa frame in a manner which permits greater displacement of the entire bed frame during unfolding to bed position without interfering with the flexibility of operations or the compact arrangement of parts when in folded or sofa position. In this modification, the inner frame member 17 has an extension 98 rigid with the inner end thereof for pivotal connection at 98 to an intermediate portion of a link 99. The link is pivoted at its far end at 100 to ,the upper end portion of, a bracket 101 fixed, as by means of screws 102, to the side walls of the sofa frame. Also pivoted at 103 onto the other end portion of the link 99. is'anvelongate arm 104 the other end of which is pivoted onto the frame section 17 at 105 spaced a short distance from the pivot 18. By this construction, the bed frame is able to be displaced from the back wall of the sofa frame by a greater distance than with the previously described modification without loss in support or in flexibility.

From this description, it will be evident that there is provided a major advance in the construction and use of sofa beds which eliminates the burden of folding and unfolding the bed between bed and sofa position and that such operations can be elfected easily and quickly and without danger and without loss in flexibility or appearance or character of the structure and without increasing the weight of the unit. It will be apparent that other means for actuation of the bed frame parts can be adapted to the practice of this invention and that the actuating means maybe arranged in various ways to provide the desired force relationships but that the force sectors must be between members rigid with the frame sections and offset from their pivots to provide lines of force located to one side or the other of the pivots for operation.

It will be understood that other changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and operation, without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a four fold sofa bed, a stationary sofa frame, a four section bed frame pivoted at one end portion onto the sofa frame including an outer frame section, an outer intermediate frame section, an inner intermediate frame section and an inner frame sectionpivoted atits inner end to the sofa frame and respectively pivotally connected one to the other at their end portions for unfoldingito bed position with the frame sections extending in aligned end to end relation in bed position and for folding into thesofa framein sofa] position, poweroperated means interconnecting the outer sectionsand the inner intermediate section, other power operated means interconnecting the inner sections withthe sofa frame for pivoting the outer sections between folded andunfolded position and for pivoting the inner sections between folded and unfolded positions,and means for controlling the sequence of operations whereby. the first power-operated means is effective when the bed is in open bed position to fold the outer frame section onto the outer intermediate frame section and to-fold-the outer intermediate frame section relative to the inner intermediate frame section whereby the outer frame section overlies the' inner intermediate frame section in substantially spaced parallel relation and whereby the other power-operated means becomes efiective upon completion of the folding of the is effective first'when the bed-frame sections are in folded sofa position to unfold the inner frame section and the inner intermediate frame section to carry said frame sections from the sofa frame to the unfolded bed position prior to operation of the first power-operated means and whereby the first power-operated means becomes effective after the other power-operated means has completed the unfolding operation of the inner and inner intermediate frame sections, to unfold the outer intermediate and outer frame section-s from the described folded position to unfolded bed position. 1

2. In a four fold sofa bed, a stationary sofa frame, a four section bed frame pivoted at one end portion onto the sofa frame including an outer frame section, an outer intermediate frame section of relatively small dimension, an inner intermediate frame section and an inner frame section pivotally connected one to another respectively at their ends for unfolding to bed position with the frame sections extending in aligned end to end relation and for folding into the sofa frame in sofa' position, extensions projecting in the same direction beyond the respective pivots from the inner end portions of the outer frame section and from the outer end portion of the inner intermediate frame section, a fluid cylinder pivotally connected at its ends respectively to the projections for pivoting the outer section and the outer intermediate section between folded and unfolded positions and another hydraulic cylinder operatively engaging the inner sections for displacement thereof between folded and unfolded positions, and means for supplying fluid under pressure to the hydraulic cylinders for actuation of the frame sections selectively to folded and unfolded positions whereby the first poweroperated means is effective when the bed is in open bed position to fold the outer frame section onto the outer intermediate frame section and to fold the outer intermediate frame section relative to the inner intermediate frame section whereby the outer frame section overlies the inner intermediate frame section in substantially spaced parallel relation and whereby the other poweroperated means becomes eifective upon completion of the folding of the outer and outer intermediate frame sections to raise and fold the inner intermediate frame section and the inner frame section simultaneously into the sofa frame to folded sofa position and whereby the other power-operated means is effective first when the bed-frame sections are in folded sofa position to unfold the inner frame section and the inner intermediate frame section to carry said frame sections from the sofa frame to the unfolded bed position prior to operation of the first power-operated means and whereby the first poweroperated means becomes effective after the other poweroperated means has completed the unfolding operation of the inner and inner intermediate frame sections, to unfold the outer intermediate and outer frame sections from the described folded position to unfolded bed position.

10 3. In a four fold sofa bed, a stationary sofa frame, a four section bed frame pivoted at one end portion onto the sofa frame including an outer frame section, an outer intermediate frame section of relatively small dimension,"

an inner intermediate frame section andan inner frame section pivotally connected one to another respectively at their ends for unfolding to bfed'position with the frame 7 sections extending in aligned end to end relation and for folding into the sofa frame in sofa position, extensions projecting in the same direction beyond the respective 1 pivots from the inner end portions of the outer frame section and from the outer end portion of the'inner intermediate frame section, a fluid cylinder pivotally connected at its ends respectively to the projections for pivoting the outer section and the outer intermediate section between folded and unfolded positions and another hydraulic cylinder operatively engaging the inner sections for displacement thereof between folded and unfolded positions, and means for supplying fluid under pressure to the hydraulic cylinders for actuation of the frame sections selectively to folded and unfolded positions whereby the lesser force required to fold the outer frame sections from unfolded position causes the hydraulic fluid under pressure to flow first to the hydraulic cylinder to fold the outer frame section relative to the outer intermediate frame section and to fold the outer intermediate frame section relative to, the inner intermediate frame section to folded positions and then to the other hydraulic cylinder for displacement of the inner intermediate frame section and the inner frame section from unfolded to folded position within the sofa frame and whereby when the frames are in folded sofa position, the fluid under pressure flows first to the other hydraulic cylinder for displacement of the inner frame section and the inner intermediate frame section from the sofa-bed frame to unfolded position and thereafter flows to the first hydraulic cylinder to effect unfolding movements of the outer intermediate frame section and outer frame section to unfolded bed position,

References Cited in the fiie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

